CVE-2026-53571

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Path Traversal in Vite Dev Server on Windows

Publication date: 2026-06-22

Last updated on: 2026-06-24

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description

Vite is a frontend tooling framework for JavaScript. Prior to 8.0.16, 7.3.5, and 6.4.3, the contents of files that are specified by server.fs.deny can be returned to the browser on Windows. Vite’s dev server denies direct access to sensitive files through server.fs.deny, including entries such as .env, .env.*, and *.{crt,pem}. However, on Windows, the deny logic does not correctly normalize NTFS ADS path forms before access checks are applied. Because of this, requests such as /.env::$DATA?raw are treated as allowed paths, while Windows resolves them to the original file's default data stream. Similar to that, Windows allows accessing a file using a different name with the 8.3 short name compatibility feature. Vite did not reject accessing files via them. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.0.16, 7.3.5, and 6.4.3.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-06-22

Last Modified

2026-06-24

Generated

2026-07-13

AI Q&A

2026-06-22

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-11

NVD

CVE-2026-53571

EUVD

EUVD-2026-38303

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
vitejs	vite	to 6.4.3 (exc)
vitejs	vite	From 7.0.0 (inc) to 7.3.5 (exc)
vitejs	vite	From 8.0.0 (inc) to 8.0.16 (exc)
voidzero	vite+	to 0.1.24 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-200	The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
CWE-22	The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability affects the Vite frontend tooling framework on Windows systems. It allows attackers to bypass the server.fs.deny security feature, which is designed to block access to sensitive files like .env and certificate files. The bypass occurs because Vite does not correctly handle Windows-specific file path features such as NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) and the 8.3 short name compatibility. Attackers can craft requests using these features (e.g., /.env::$DATA?raw) to access sensitive file contents that should be denied.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthorized access to sensitive files such as .env and certificate files on Windows systems running vulnerable versions of Vite. Exposure of such sensitive information can lead to violations of data protection regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require strict controls over access to personal and sensitive data.

Because the vulnerability enables attackers to bypass file access restrictions without privileges or user interaction, it increases the risk of data breaches and unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, potentially impacting compliance with these standards.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in files that are supposed to be protected by Vite's server.fs.deny feature. Since no privileges or user interaction are required, an attacker can remotely access sensitive configuration files such as environment variables (.env) or security certificates (.pem), potentially exposing secrets, credentials, or private keys. This can compromise the security of your application and infrastructure.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by attempting to access sensitive files through alternate NTFS paths that bypass the server.fs.deny rules in Vite. For example, on a Windows system running a vulnerable Vite dev server, you can try accessing files using NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) or 8.3 short names.

Attempt to access sensitive files like `.env` or `.pem` using URLs such as `/.env::$DATA?raw` or `/tls.pem::$DATA?raw` in the browser or via HTTP requests to the Vite dev server.
Check for access via 8.3 short names by resolving the short name of a sensitive file and attempting to access it through that name in the URL.

These tests can be performed using curl or similar HTTP clients to send requests to the Vite dev server and observe if the contents of sensitive files are returned.

Mitigation Strategies

The immediate mitigation step is to upgrade Vite to a fixed version: 8.0.16 or later, 7.3.5 or later, or 6.4.3 or later, depending on your current version.

Additionally, restrict access to the Vite dev server so it is not exposed to untrusted networks, especially if sensitive files are present in allowed directories.

Consider disabling 8.3 short name generation on NTFS volumes if possible, to reduce the risk of bypass via short names.

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